Box feeder



J n- 8, 195 E. w. LANGENBERG 2,776,742

BOX FEEDER Filed March 5, 1956 5 Sheets-Sheet 1 Q m w J 3 L INVENTOR.

ATTORNEYS.

Jan. 8, 1957 E. w. LANGENBERG 2,7

BOX FEEDER Filed March 5, 1956 5 Sheets-Sheet 2 I v A 0 3 & w k

1 I I Q Jan. 8, 1957 E. w. LANGENBERG 2,776,742

BOX FEEDER 3 Sheets-Sheet 3 Filed March 5, 1956 ATTORNEYS.

United States Patent BOX FEEDER Earl W. Langenberg, Peoria, Ill. Application March 5, 1956, Serial No. 569,473

A 7 Claims. or. 198-421) This invention relates to box feeders and more particularly to a mechanism to feed boxes of different sizes to accurately centered positions on a tying table, or the like. In many types of commodities packaged in boxes,

it is necessary after the boxes are filled and sealed to take them to a tying table Where they are tied with strap metal, wire, or the like. The tying is effected by tying machines which automatically pass the lengths of strap or wire around the boxes and for proper operation it is necessary that the boxes be properly. centered on the tying table. When the boxes are fed by a conveyor or by a conventional pushing feeder, there is no way to center them accurately on the tying table, particularly when boxes of different sizes are to be handled.

It is therefore one of the objects of the present invention to provide a box feeder in which boxes are fed singly to an accurately centered position on a tying table or the like. r

Another object is to provide a box feeder in which the boxes are engaged and advanced by arms pivoted on a reciprocable carriage and resiliently urged toward the box to center it between the arms and to advance it we predetermined centered position as the carriage moves.

According to one feature of the invention, the'arms carry spaced rollers rotatable on vertical axes to engage the sides and back of the box, respectively, to center it and feed it to a predetermined center position. 3

Another object is to provide a box feeder in which the arms are latched in retracted position and the latches are released by a trip lever engaged and operated by movement of a box to a feeding position between the arms. Movement of the arms to engage the box may be utilized to operate control means to advance the carriage.

A further object is to provide a box feeder in which the arms are returned to their latched positions by pivoted guide rails which separate to pass a box and which engage the arms during return movement of the carriage to swing the arms out.

According to a feature of the invention, separate latches are employed for the arms and are interconnected to be operated simultaneously by a single trip lever.

The above and other objects and features of the invention will be more readily apparent from the following description when read in connection with the accompanying drawing, in which:

Figure 1 is a side elevation of a box feeder embodying the invention;

Figure 2 is a top plan view of the box feeder;

Figure 3 is an end elevation looking from the left of Figures 1 and 2 and with parts omitted;

Figure 4 is a perspective view of the latch and trip mechanism; and

Figure 5 is a partial planvview showing a box in partially advanced position.

The feeder, as shown, comprises a stationary framework supported at a convenient height on legs 11. Vertical uprights 12 extend upward at opposite sides of the frame 10 and are connected attheir upper ends by 2,776,742 Patented Jan. 8, 1957 a crosspiece 13. A beam 14 connects to the crosspiece 13 and extends rearwardly therefrom, being supported at its opposite end by a similar framework, not shown.

Boxes are advanced over the frame by a belt conveyor 15 which passes at its ends over rolls or drums 16 and is driven by suitable motors or the like, not shown. Boxes may be placed on the conveyor from a closing or sealing machine and will be advanced from right to left by the conveyor, as seen in Figures 1 and 2, to a feeding position, as shown in dotted lines in the drawings. Boxes may be of different sizes, as indicated by the dotted lines 1'7, or of smaller size, as indicated by the dotted lines 18. In either case, the boxes will be advanced by the conveyor substantially to the position shown at which they may be picked up by the feeding mechanism. of the present invention and fed to a predetermined position on a tying machine table, as shown at 19 in Figure 1.

To advance the boxes, a retractable carriage 21 is provided on the frame 10 for movement froma-retracted position, as shown in full lines, to an advanced position, as shown in dotted lines. The carriage comprises side rail members which are supported for longitudinal sliding movement between guide rails 22 mounted on the sides of the uprights 12 and may be moved by a fluid motor 23 fixedly connected at one end to the beam 14 and at its opposite end to a yoke 24 extending over and around the beam and connected at its lower ends to the carriage 21. The yoke 24 may be braced, if desired, by angle members 25extending rearwardly therefrom and connected at their rear ends to the carriage to brace the yoke.

To engage and center a box at the feeding position, the carriage carries a pair of arms 26 pivoted at vertical axes 27 at opposite sides thereof and urged inwardly about their pivots to'engage a box by springs-28 anchored at one end to extensions 29 on the arms and attheir other ends to brackets 31 on the carriage. At their free ends the arms are provided with spaced rollers 32 and 33 rotatable about vertical axes to engage respectively the sides and rear end of a box to be fed to center, and advance the box as the carriage, is advanced. When the arms swing in into engagement with a box at the feeding position the rollers 32 will engage the opposite sides of the box and since the spring tension acting on the two arms is equal theywill center the box laterally of the carriage. At the same time, the rollers 33 will engage the rear face of the box so that the box will be advanced with the carriage. With the rollers spaced and positioned, as shown, it will be noted that the arms will'swing in further to engage a small box than they do to engage a largerbox. Since the rollers 33 move in an arc, the further inward swinging of the arms will cause a smaller box to be gripped at a more advanced position relative to the carriage than a larger box so that when the box is fed to the tying table, it will be accurately centered lengthwise of the carriage as well as laterally. The tying machine can therefore function properly due to the fact that the box fed thereto will be properly centered both laterally and longitudinally regardless of its size. The arms are normally held in retracted position by latch plates 34 pivoted on horizontal axes on extensions 35 of the frame ltl and formed at their inner edges with upwardly extending flanges to engage rollers 36 which project downwardly from the free ends of the arms. The latch plates, as best seen in Figure 4, have angular levers 37 extending therefrom beneath the top run of the conveyor and extending horizontally toward each other. One of the levers 37 is provided at its free end with a horizontally slotted yoke 38 and the opposite lever isprovided with a vertically slotted yoke 39 spanning the yoke 38 and carrying a pin 41 which fits slidably in the yoke 38. Through this connection the latch plates are-caused to move simultaneousleased positions so that the two arms will be released simultaneously to move into engagement with the box. The levers 3-7 are urged upwardly normally to maintain the latch plates in their latched positions by means such as a spring 42 which may conveniently act on the bottom of the yoke 33.

In order to release the latches when a box is advanced to feeding position a trip lever 43 is provided pivoted on a vertical axis at 44 and having an angular extension 45 connected to a spring 46 to urge the trip lever inward. The trip lever carries a downwardly extending bracket 47 carrying a pivoted pawl 48 at its lower end which can swing clockwise, as seen in Figure 3, but whose movement in a counterclockwise direction is prevented. The pawl 48 cooperates with an extension 49 carried by the right-hand latch plate 34 to release the latch plates when desired.

When there is no box between the arms at the feeding position the trip lever will be urged inwardly toward the center of the carriage by the spring 46. As a box is advanced by the conveyor toward the feeding position it will engage the angular end of the trip lever and will swing the trip lever outward causing the pawl 48 to pass freely over the upper end of the extension 49. When the back face of the box passes the trip lever the trip lever will swing inward and the pawl 43 will engage the upper end of the extension 49 and will switch the latch plate 3 3 downward to release the roller 36. Due to the intercom nection of the latch plates through the levers 37 both latches will release simultaneously so that both arms will swmg in at the same time to engage and center a box.

Inward swinging of the arms to box-engaging position maybe utilized to control the motor 23 to advance the carriage. As indicated diagrammatically in Figure 2, a control valve 51 may be mounted at one side of the carnage and may carry a plunger 52 to be engaged by one of the extensions 29 to shift the valve. Thus, as soon as the levers move into box-engaging position, the valve 51 will be operated to energize the motor 23 to advance the carriage so that the box gripped by the arms will be moved to center position on the feeding table. A bracket 53 on the carriage 21 will engage the opposite end of the plunger 52 when the carriage has advanced to its maximum feed mg position and will reverse the valve to energize the motor 23 in the opposite direction and return the carriage ready to advance another box.

To return the arms 26 to their retracted and latched position during return of the carriage, cam guide means are provided to engage the rollers 36 at the bottoms of the arms. As shown, such guide means are formed by flange L-section members 54 fixedly mounted at opposite sides of the carriage with their flanges extending upward to a sulficient height to engage the rollers 36 and hold them out. The flanges of the members 54 are aligned with the flanges at the inner ends of the latch plates 34 so that the rollers 36 can move freely from the guide members onto the latch plates and into engagement with the flanges on the latch plates.

At the forward ends of the fixed guide members 54 pivoted guide rails 55 are provided which are preferably, though not necessarily, slightly curved, as shown. The guide rails 55 are provided with extending arms 56 con nected to springs 57 to urge the guide rails yieldingly inward under relatively light pressure.

As the carriage is advanced with a box carried thereby the box will. engage the guide rails 55 and cause them to swing outward, as shown in Figure 5, so that the box can pass freely between them. As soon as the box has passed the guide rails will swing in to the position shown in Figure 2 under the influence of the springs 57 in which position their forward ends lie closer to the center of the carriage than the rollers 36 even when the arms 26 are swung inward to their maximum extent. Therefore, as the carriage returns, the outer faces of the flanges on the guide rails 55 will engage the rollers 36 and cam the arms 26 outward. As the carriage moves further toward its retracted position, the arms will be held outward by the guide members 54 until they again engage the latch plates ready for a subsequent feeding operation.

it will be seen that in use the box feeder of the present invention receives boxes singly from a sealer, or the like, and advances them to accurately centered position on a tying table. The boxes are fed automatically without requiring any manual control and boxes of different sizes can be handled without requiring any adjustments of the apparatus.

While one embodiment of the invention has been shown and described herein, it will be understood that this is for the purpose of illustration only and is not to be taken as a definition of the scope of the invention, reference being bad for this purpose to the appended claims.

What is claimed is:

l. A box feeder comprising a horizontally reciprocable carriage, arms pivoted on opposite sides of the carriage on vertical axes, means yieldably urging the free ends of the arms inwardly to engage a box, spaced box-engaging parts at the free end of each arm, one to engage the back of the box and one to engage the adjacent side of the box whereby on advancing of the carriage the box will be centered by the arms and advanced with the carriage, and means operable during return of the carriage to move the free ends of the arms outward.

2. A box feeder comprising a horizontally reciprocable carriage, arms pivoted on opposite sides of the carriage on vertical axes, means yieldably urging the free ends of the arms inwardly to engage a box, spaced box-engaging parts at the free end of each arm, one to engage the back of the box and one to engage the adjacent side of the box whereby on advancing of the carriage the box will be centered by the arms and advanced with the carriage, latch means to hold the free ends of the arms out, trip means operated by movement of a box to feeding position between the levers to release the latch means and allow the arms to swing in and engage the box, and means operable during return of the carriage to move the free ends of the arms outward.

3. A box feeder comprising a horizontally reciprocable carriage, arms pivoted on opposite sides of the carriage on vertical axes, means yieldably urging the free ends of the arms inwardly to engage a box, spaced box-engaging parts at the free end of each arm, one to engage the back of the box and one to engage the adjacent side of the box whereby on advancing of the carriage the box will be centered by the arms and advanced with the carriage, guide rails at the sides of the carriage pivoted on vertical axes, means yieldingly'urging the guide rails toward each other to engage and be spread by a box as it is advanced by the Carriage and to swing inward behind the box after it passes them, and parts on the arms to engage the guide rails to cam the arms outward during return of the carriage.

4. A box feeder comprising a horizontally reciprocable carriage, arms pivoted on opposite sides of the carriage on vertical axes, means yieldably urging the free ends of the arms inwardly to engage a box, spaced box-engaging parts at the free end of each arm, one to engage the back of the box and one to engage the adjacent side of the box whereby on advancing of the carriage the box will be centered by the arms and advanced with the carriage, guide rails at the sides of the carriage pivoted on vertical axes, means yieldingly urging the guide rails toward each other to engage and be spread by a box it is advanced by the carriage and to swing inward behind the box after it passes them, parts on the arms to engage the guide rails to cam the arms outward dur ing return of the carriage, latch means engageable with the arms to hold them in their outer position, and trip means operated by movement of a box to feeding position between the arms to release the latch means.

5. The construction of claim 4 including a motor to move the carriage, and control means to energize the motor operated by swinging of the arms inward.

6. A box feeder comprising a horizontally reciprocable carriage, arms pivoted on opposite sides of the carriage on vertical axes, means yieldingly urging the free ends of the arms inward to engage a box, latch plates pivoted on horizontal axes at opposite sides of the carriage and having vertical projections thereon to engage the arms adjacent their free ends to hold the free ends of the arms out, trip means operated by movement of a box to feeding position between the arms to swing one of the latch plates to a release position, levers secured to the latch plates and extending horizontally toward each other,

and sliding connections between the ends of the levers to cause simultaneous movement of the latch plates.

7. In a box feeder, a reciprocable carriage, arms pivoted on opposite sides of the carriage on vertical axes, springs connected to the arms urging their free ends inward to engage a box to be fed, and a pair of spaced rollers rotatably mounted adjacent to the free end of each arm to engage the box, one roller of each pair engaging the back of the box and the other engaging the 10 adjacent side of the box to center the box relative to the carriage and to advance the box as the carriage moves.

No references cited. 

